The Otesaga Resort Hotel overlooks Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, New York. The father of novelist James Fenimore Cooper founded the town. Cooper referred to the lake in his Leatherstocking Tales as “Lake Glimmerglass.” Photo courtesy of Historic Hotels of America

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A Cooperstown farm once owned by James Fenimore Cooper has been a living history museum since 1944. At The Farmers’ Museum, guests can peek into more than two dozen historic buildings, including a tavern, blacksmith’s shop, doctor’s office and general store where interpreters portray workers from the 1800s. Photo courtesy of The Farmers' Museum

I recently got an up-close view of the types of World Series winner rings given to baseball players on the 1924 Washington Senators team and the 2019 Washington Nationals.  

In a display case nearby was a glove used by Bucky Harris who, in 1924, played second base for and managed the Washington Senators when they won the World Series. 

These almost sacred artifacts are part of the collection at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown — a mecca for fans of America’s pastime. It’s the main reason why many people visit the little village (population about 1,800) in the foothills of New York’s Catskill Mountains.  

The museum showcases the popular game through memorabilia and exhibits that provide both entertainment and education. When I asked how much time most visitors spend there, I was told, “From two hours to two weeks.”   

Beyond baseball 

After my introduction to countless baseball-related displays, I did a little more exploring and came up with this marketing motto for the town: “Come for the baseball, stay for a lot more.”   

Begin with Cooperstown itself. There are good reasons why it has been referred to as “America’s most perfect village” and included by Travel + Leisure magazine on lists of best places to visit and best road trips from New York City. 

The setting is a magnet for those seeking breathtaking scenery: rolling farm fields tucked among pockets of forest, tranquil lakes surrounded by low mountains. The town could be a movie set. (Indeed, four movies were filmed in the area in the past five years.) 

The centerpiece of the landscape is Otsego Lake, a glacier-created body of water. Cooperstown’s walkable streets lead to a spectacular lakefront park, and other leafy parks add welcome touches of Mother Nature.  

Adding to the storybook décor is an architectural mixture of stone, brick and wood-frame colonial buildings and gingerbread Victorian homes, many painted in vibrant eye-catching colors. 

Historic Main Street 

It’s not easy to escape references to the sport for which Cooperstown is most famous. While the Hall of Fame is the main attraction here, it’s only one of an eclectic plethora of other attractions related to the sport.  

At the Heroes of Baseball Wax Museum, I came face-to-face with life-size replicas of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and other iconic players, along with surprises like Bud Abbott and Lou Costello of “Who’s on first” fame. 

On historic Main Street, I dropped by the Cooperstown Bat Company to see their professional models. You can also tour its factory, a short drive away in Hartwick, where the wood bats are made for major league players, minor leaguers and college teams. 

I stepped into Main Street’s other shops and became immersed in an avalanche of apparel, baseball cards and other collectibles. I spotted men wearing baseball uniforms who had just played a few innings at Doubleday Field, which is named for the man who has been credited (erroneously) with inventing the game. 

Strolling into the Doubleday Café, I encountered walls plastered with baseball paraphernalia and photos, including one myth-spreading picture titled “Abner Doubleday, Father of Dreams.” 

James Fenimore Cooper 

As enjoyable as reliving the glory days of the Washington baseball team was, that only scratched the surface of the history Cooperstown offers visitors.  

Some sites warrant a look-see. The 1790 House is the oldest in town, and the Nancy Williams House (1797) ranks as the oldest brick home. Pomeroy Place (1804) was built by William Cooper as a wedding gift for his daughter Ann.  

William, the founder of Cooperstown in 1786, was the father of James Fenimore Cooper, the renowned author who spent his boyhood and last 15 years there. 

Cooper is best known for his 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans as well as the earlier Leatherstocking Tales, historical novels of the frontier period that he wrote between 1823 and 1841.  

Otsego Lake’s name was derived from the Iroquois word meaning “place of the rock,” which referred to a boulder known as Council Rock, a meeting place for Native Americans.  

But the body of water is known as Lake Glimmerglass in Cooper’s books. So you’ll spot references to Glimmerglass all over town, in café names and an annual summer festival at the Glimmerglass Opera. 

Among welcome surprises in a town so small is the Fenimore Art Museum. It houses world-class displays of American folk and Indian art, and offers a constant lineup of changing exhibits.  

While hardly any of the historic sites related to James Fenimore Cooper have survived, there is one place that literary fans can visit.  

The Farmers’ Museum, a living history village that re-creates mid-19th-century rural life, has been a working farm since 1813, when it was owned by Cooper. Collections run the gamut from an early 18th-century plow to home-made hay rakes and a 19th-century milkfat tester. 

If you go 

My stay at The Otesaga, a luxurious resort hotel perched at the edge of Otsego Lake, was part of my immersion in the destination. The property transports guests back to a time of elegance and gracious hospitality.  

When it was built, in 1909, it offered such then-modern amenities as an ice-cooled refrigerator, individually adjusted heating and a telephone in each room. 

The hotel has an imposing front portico and broad veranda overlooking the 700-foot waterfront vista. Its high-ceilinged guest rooms feature chandeliers and oversized windows with views of the lake. Every detail combines comfort with opulence.  

Adding to the mix is a golf course rated among the best on the East Coast, a heated swimming pool, and tennis and pickleball courts. Rooms start at $180 per night. 

For more information about Cooperstown, visit thisiscooperstown.com. For The Otesaga, go to otesaga.com.